Image forming devices including copiers, laser printers, facsimile machines, and the like, may include a photoconductive drum having a rigid cylindrical surface that is coated along a defined length of its outer surface. The surface of the photoconductor may be charged to a uniform electrical potential and then selectively exposed to light in a pattern corresponding to an original image. Those areas of the photoconductive surface exposed to light may be discharged, thus forming a latent electrostatic image on the photoconductive surface. A developer material, such as toner, having an electrical charge such that the toner is attracted to the photoconductive surface may be used for forming the image. The toner may be stored in a reservoir or sump adjacent to the photoconductor and may be transferred to the photoconductor by a developer roll. The thickness of the toner layer on the developer roller may controlled by a nip, which is formed between a doctor blade and the developer roller.
A recording sheet, such as a blank sheet of paper, may then be brought into contact with the photoconductive surface and the toner thereon may transferred to the recording sheet in the form of the latent electrostatic image. The recording sheet may then be heated thereby fusing the toner to the sheet.